Peter Schiff, a well-known gold advocate and one of Bitcoin’s fiercest critics, has surprised many by admitting that Bitcoin does have a use case. Despite his long-standing skepticism, Schiff acknowledged Bitcoin’s role, but with a twist.
Peter Schiff Admits Bitcoin’s Use, Source: X
In a recent post on X, Schiff acknowledged that Bitcoin does have a use case, though not the one Bitcoin supporters typically promote. He was referring to famed short-seller Jim Chanos, who revealed that he bought Bitcoin to hedge his short position in $MSTR (Strategy’s stock).
In simple terms, Chanos is betting that Strategy’s stock will fall, and he’s using Bitcoin as a safety net in case it rises. Schiff joked that Michael Saylor, Strategy’s executive chairman and big Bitcoin believer, has accidentally created a real use case for Bitcoin: as a hedge against his own company’s risky Bitcoin strategy.
This is especially ironic because Schiff has always been one of Bitcoin’s harshest critics. Over the years, he has consistently warned that Bitcoin has no intrinsic value, is too volatile, and is driven only by speculation. He has also frequently attacked Strategy’s aggressive Bitcoin buying, calling it reckless and predicting it will eventually backfire.
On May 3, he argued that Bitcoin is still behaving more like a tech stock than a reliable store of value. He said it hasn’t “decoupled” from the NASDAQ and warned that its price is still mainly driven by hype. He advised investors to stick with gold instead.
Additionally, his latest criticism came on Strategy’s new Bitcoin purchase, where Strategy has bought 13,390 BTC for about $1.34 billion. Schiff also warned that if Bitcoin’s price drops again, the Strategy could be in serious trouble. Because the company has borrowed heavily to buy Bitcoin, a significant price fall could turn paper profits into massive real losses.
Peter Schiff still doesn’t believe in Bitcoin, and he never misses a chance to criticize Strategy and Michael Saylor. But even he admits that Bitcoin now has one use: helping traders protect themselves from the very risks that Saylor has created.
